Nigeria’s Mike Ochonma heads Association of African Automotive Journalists

 

Maureen Aguta

 

As a new group African motoring journalists, Association Of Africa’s Automotive Journalists (AAAJ), took off in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda recently, the immediate past chairman of Nigerian Auto Journalists Association (NAJA), Mr Mike Ochonma has emerged as its first president.

Speaking at the historic event which coincided with the new launch of new Volkswagen  models and test-drive by over 25 motoring journalists from various African countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Mauritius, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Malawi, Ochonma, stated, that AAAJ is the outcome of series of discussions especially among the journalists that have been covering the automotive industry in the past years and subsequent Auto stakeholders engagements across Africa especially the Sub-Sahara Africa.

Other executive members of the new AAAJ are Trevor Lamenya (Kenyan), Vice President, Fact Jeke (Zimbabwean) Secretary General, while veteran Moses Akaigwe of Nigeria and Richard Wiley of South Africa are to serve as Advisers, other positions will be announced in due course.

Ochonma disclosed in Kigali that, the vision of AAAJ is to be the leading platform for automotive journalists in Africa, working tirelessly towards promoting excellence in automotive reporting and storytelling of the emerging African automotive industry.

He added that the mission of AAAJ is to provide a forum for automotive journalists to share knowledge, best practices, and resources, enhancing the quality and credibility of automotive reporting in Africa.

According to him, among the aims of AAAJ is to promote professional development and capacity building among automotive editors and journalists in Africa, to foster collaboration and networking among automotive journalists and industry stakeholders and to advocate for accurate, unbiased automotive reporting in Africa.

Ochonma further disclosed that the objectives is to organise regular training workshops, conferences, and seminars for the automotive journalists and editors among them, to create a platform for sharing news, features, and analysis on the African automotive industry, to develop and promote industry standards and guidelines for automotive reporting in Africa as well as recognise and reward excellence in automotive reporting through annual awards and recognition programmes when necessary.

Ochonma also said that AAAJ would complement the effort of the Association of African Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) as a leading organisation focused on industrialising Africa’s automotive sector.

Established in November 2015, AAAM works closely with governments to develop policies that attract investment and drive industrialization across the continent with the key objectives promoting economic development.

AAAM also aims to drive Africa’s automotive industry growth and development, regional value chains, develop regional value chains for manufacturing and supplying components.

AAAM collaborates on auto and allied industry business, fosters partnerships and inclusivity across the continent.

In their separate congratulatory messages, Martina Biene, Chairperson and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Africa and Victoria Backhaus-Jerling, CEO of AAAM congratulated the AAAJ. The duo promised to offer every necessary support to the leadership and members of AAAJ and urged them to propagate and publicise the African auto industry narrative from well informed perspective.

AAAM’s efforts aim to position Africa as a key player in the global automotive industry, leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and regional value chains to drive growth.